poliorcetics
/ˌpəʊlɪɔːˈsɛtɪks/
poliorcetics means the art of siege warfare, namely, that of conducting or resisting a siege. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
poliorcetics is pronounced /ˌpəʊlɪɔːˈsɛtɪks/.
Why “poliorcetics” is a great word
POLIORCETICS — [Noun] The technical art of conducting and resisting military sieges. From Late Latin poliorcetica ("siege engines"), from Koine Greek πολιορκητικά (poliorkētiká, "things related to sieges"), the neuter plural of πολιορκητικός (poliorkētikós, "relating to sieges"), from Ancient Greek πολιορκέω (poliorkéō, "to besiege"), from πόλις (pólis, "city") + ἕρκος (hérkos, "enclosure, fence"). Unlike "strategy," which governs the broad theater of war, or "fortification," which denotes the static walls, poliorcetics is the grimly active craft that lives at their intersection. It is the slow creep of a sap-trench, the percussive groan of a battering ram, and the patient, dreadful geometry of a ramp ascending to the enemy's wall—a brutal form of engineering that treats the enclosed city as a puzzle to be dismantled.
Etymology
Partly:
* borrowed from Late Latin poliorcetica (“siege engines”) + English -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum) (poliorcetica is derived from Koine Greek πολιορκητικά (poliorkētiká, “things related to sieges”), the neuter plural of πολιορκητικός (poliorkētikós, “relating to poliorcetics, poliorcetic”), from Ancient Greek πολῐορκέω (polĭorkéō, “to besiege, blockade”) (from πόλις (pólis, “city”) + ἕρκος (hérkos, “enclosure; fence”)) + -τῐκός (-tĭkós, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or relating to’)); and
* from poliorcetic (“relating to poliorcetics”) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum).
noun
- The art of siege warfare, namely, that of conducting or resisting a siege.“The grand battles of the Archaic and early Classical periods were replaced by the new art of poliorcetics.”